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How to create a dress code policy without getting sued

Stefanie Baker is an associate in the Cleveland office of Fisher & Phillips, where she practices in all areas of labor and employment law, primarily focusing on employment litigation.

Can you restrict dress and grooming standards in your workplace? Can you further curb the limits of employee self-expression in the form of tattoos, piercings, jewelry, and hairstyles at work without getting sued?
Yes, employers have a lot of control over the dress and appearance of their employees. The key, however, is to carefully draft and consistently enforce a reasonable dress code and/or grooming policy.
Although there is no legal requirement for a dress or appearance policy, employers design dress code and grooming policies to provide employees with notice of reasonable expectations in the workplace. Employers should be mindful of potential pitfalls of these policies, including claims for gender, religion, national origin, race, and disability discrimination claims.
Your company's policy should focus on justifiable business reasons that do not have a disproportionate effect on particular segments of the workforce, especially those in a protected category. You should consider the requirements of the job, your workplace environment, and employee contact with customers and/or the public when drafting a dress code.
Grooming standards are often an important part of any dress code, and concerns about health, hygiene, or safety often prompt policies addressing hair and beard length, jewelry wearing, and body "art" or tattoos. Similar to dress code policies, grooming rules can also conflict with anti-discrimination laws. You should weigh the benefits of grooming standards against the effects such a policy will have on employee morale. Demanding that male employees be clean-shaven, for example, might offend men who practice religions that prohibit cutting their hair or shaving their beards.
Here are some helpful tips when drafting a dress code and/or grooming policy for your employees:
The Do's and Don'ts of Dress Code Policies:
• Do communicate the policy and expectations clearly to your employees.
• Don't set dress and grooming codes that have radically different standards for men and women.
• Do use multiple avenues of communication, such as an acknowledgement form, email, company intranet, and meetings to make sure employees know about the policy.
• Don't use terms such as "appropriate" or "professional" in describing acceptable attire because individuals have different understandings of what these words mean.
• Do make exceptions for attire or grooming directly related to religion, ethnicity or disabilities.
• Don't base your policy on personal preferences.
• Do enforce your policy consistently and uniformly.
• Do consider the practice in your area and industry and the possible impact to public perception within the local business community.
If your company does not currently have a written dress code, perhaps now is the time to put one in place, especially with summer coming. If your company currently has a written dress code, are you prepared to live with the guidelines? If not, should your dress code be revisited? Personal appearance is a sensitive topic for most people and employers don't want to embarrass or offend their employees. Therefore, remember to review your policy often and enforce your policy uniformly and consistently.

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